Love's Only Deception. Кэрол Мортимер

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ you can call me.’

      ‘And you’ll come out with me?’

      ‘Yes.’ She looked at her wrist-watch. ‘Now I think we should be getting back, I wouldn’t want to upset your mother by being late for lunch.’

      Callie was able to eat her lunch, the traditional roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, safe in the knowledge that in an hour or two she would be able to leave. The sooner the better as far as she was concerned. Sir Charles and Lady Spencer had been overly polite during lunch, and she knew that the talk they had brought her here for couldn’t be far off.

      ‘Perhaps Caroline would like to see the roses in the daylight, Donald,’ his mother suggested once they had retired to the drawing-room.

      ‘Would you?’ he asked eagerly.

      Anything to get away from his parents. ‘I’ll love it,’ Callie nodded.

      It really was a spectacular garden; many of the roses were still in bloom, their aroma heady, their colours a delight to the eye, as was their perfect shape.

      Donald laughed when Callie asked if his mother tended the roses herself. ‘As far as gardens go my mother is a looker, not a doer. She prefers organising garden-parties, things like that,’ he added as if to make up for the slight he had given his mother.

      ‘I’m sure—–’

      ‘Telephone, Mr Donald.’ The butler had quietly appeared at their side.

      A look of irritation crossed Donald’s face and he turned to look down at Callie. ‘I’m sorry about this, but I shouldn’t be long,’ he apologised.

      ‘I’ll be fine out here,’ she assured him.

      In fact it was a relief to be on her own. She found the Spencer family, this whole situation, completely overwhelming. Maybe if she had been given the time to think about it she might even have found a way not to come here.

      After about ten minutes, when Donald still hadn’t returned, she decided to go back into the house, the beauty of the garden being exhausted. As she approached the open french doors into the lounge she could hear the sound of Donald’s voice, and hesitated as she realised he was still on the telephone. Then she wasn’t hesitating at all, but was listening avidly; the burden of the conversation seeming to be about her!

      ‘Because of Caroline, darling,’ Donald was explaining. ‘You know I don’t prefer her to you. No, I don’t want to marry her, I want to marry you, but—No, don’t hang up,’ he begged in a panicked voice. ‘Darling, please, try to be reasonable. It just means we’ll have to wait a while. Until after the divorce. Well, I know it could take years, but—–’

      Callie was no longer listening, but slumped down on to the garden seat. The reason Donald had been so nice to her this weekend was suddenly clear to her. They were actually intending to marry her off to him. And divorce them too!

      Heavens, they must really want those shares badly. Any guilt she might have felt about Jeff leaving her the shares was now erased. People like the Spencers didn’t deserve to have anything that had been Jeff’s. She had come here willing to be polite to them because they were Jeff’s family, might even have been prepared to arrange for Sir Charles to take the shares off her. But not now.

      She knew Donald didn’t have the deviousness, the intelligence to come up with an idea like this, it had to have been his parents’ plan. Besides, he was in love with someone else.

      He had finished on the telephone now, hanging up hastily as his mother spoke to him.

      ‘Who was that?’ she demanded sharply.

      ‘Just a friend,’ he dismissed shakily.

      ‘Are you sure, Donald?’

      ‘Of course I am, Mother,’ he said nervously.

      ‘And where is Caroline?’

      ‘I left her in the garden when I came in to answer the telephone.’

      ‘And how are things going with her?’

      ‘Well—I hope.’

      ‘You only hope?’ his mother echoed scathingly. ‘You aren’t pushy enough, Donald,’ she tutted. ‘If she doesn’t like you I don’t know what your father will say—or what he will do,’ she added threateningly. ‘We really can’t have someone like that at Spencer Plastics.’

      ‘But you’re intending to make her my wife!’ Donald groaned.

      ‘Only for a short time, dear,’ his mother dismissed.

      ‘But—–’

      ‘Now don’t be tiresome, dear. Your father will be very pleased with you if you do this for him. And it won’t be for ever. You have to admit she’s prettier than you had imagined.’

      ‘Well … yes. But—–’

      ‘Really, Donald, you agreed to this when we discussed it earlier in the week. Now go and get Caroline. She’s been left alone too long.’

      By the time Donald found her Callie had regained her composure. She was back in the rose garden so that he shouldn’t realise she had overheard his telephone call and his conversation with his mother. But she was able to look at them with new eyes, to see the greed in all their faces. No wonder they hadn’t wanted to discuss the shares—they didn’t need to, they intended getting their hands on them when she married Donald. Whoever had thought of such an idea must have a warped mind.

      And to imagine she would actually fall for Donald, that was an insult to her intelligence!

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABIAAD/4RW5RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAACvyAAAAnEAAK/IAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMiBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTU6MDI6MDcgMTc6MTQ6MjkAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAGS6ADAAQAAAAB AAAKAAAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAABSDAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ СКАЧАТЬ